Week of June 6, 2022 Small World Seafood Update

What a beautiful weekend for weather, the streets were packed, the beaches were packed, the roads were packed, everybody feeling good and then South Street. When is this shit gonna end?

Well, it looks like we will be seeing some really nice striped bass this week! This wild fish is coming from our friends in Maryland. Striped bass is considered the king of east coast bass and for good reason. The meat is firm and sweet and the skin is just gorgeous when you cook it. What a presentation! Usually the posh fish on a restaurant menu, it could go for $35-$42 per plate!

Also on the offering this week will be Spanish mackerel fillet from the Carolinas. This fish has been quite a revelation for a lot of you. Mackerels can be quite strong in taste but Spanish mackerel is the mildest by far and, well, just a great tasting fish. Also, it is quite versatile being that it is eaten all over the world. Prized in the Mediterranean all the way to China. We have a couple of great recipes for it too including one of my favorite, Choo Chee which is an interesting way to make a red curry sauce. Yum!

I have never experienced this kind of uncertainty in the seven years I have done this. Neither have the people I buy from. We are kind of caught in a little bit of a standoff between those few that are catching the fish who want to keep the prices high and people like us who want to pay more reasonable prices but can't because there aren't that many options.

For example, there are only a few people who produce soft shell crabs. They used to compete with each other but now are happy to keep things high together. There are only a few people who fish for halibut and same story.

Now, I know that high fuel costs can eat at their bottom line but this is getting ridiculous. I read something over the weekend that so many industries in this country are practical monopolies that many economists believe part of inflation is due to a desire to make more profit. They are terming this 'greedflation". Figures, right? A few people controlling a commodity can act like real pissers sometimes. (For anyone really interesting in the intersection of commodity prices, manipulation and political consequences, I highly recommend a book released a couple of months ago called 'Price Wars by Rupert Russell - it will blow your mind).

The downside of this is that less fish is caught because high price suppresses demand. The upside of this is that less fish is caught so populations can grow. So, who knows. It's bad for us but good for the fish. Kind of like when it pours for three days. Bad for us, great for the trees and mosquitos....

Aaaaanyway, one thing is for sure when it comes to people trying to artificially elevate the price of anything, eventually, it crashes. And we'll be there to scoop up some of the stuff. Hopefully, those engaged in greedflationary practices lose a couple of dollars on the way down. Kind of like cosmic rubber band snapback.

On the other side of the curve, crab meat and scallops are seeing the downward trend (to normalcy, hopefully) and so we scoop it up, right? Both will be cheaper this week! At least someone is looking out for you guys! (And i am still looking for soft shells this week for you guys, FYI).

Faroe Island salmon is holding steady but I can feel a dip coming up soon. I can just feel it...

Littleneck clams are the shellfish of the week. Oysters will be Summersides from PEI because, well, summer..We are making more Smoked albacore spread for this week. We are also working on some really cool stuff for next week (Father's Day).

Plenty of marinated anchovies (boquerones), sardines and dill herring. How good is that stuff, huh?

Anyway, what goes up must come down and what goes down will eventually go up. It is the rollercoaster of life and sometimes all you can do is put your arms up high in the air and screaaaaaaaaam!!!!!!!!

Look out for the order form Wednesday at 11am for Fairmount/444 N 4th St

Or Thursday at 9am for Fitler/Rittenhouse/Washington Sq

Peace

Robert Amar

Small World Seafood

Owner